Ancient Laboratory
The Ancient Laboratory was a chamber within the Heartrock of Sanctaphrax excavated by the ancient First Scholars. Created at the same time as the Great Laboratory, its named referred to its purpose of studying the most ancient of mysteries: the nature of Open Sky and the creation of life itself. Layout The Ancient Laboratory was cut directly into the Heartrock, secured by an immense circular door that could only be unlocked by pressing the Great Seal of High Office held by the Most High Academe of Sanctaphrax into a carving in its centre. The Laboratory was formed of many thousands of glass pipes, chambers, and globes, which were cast almost organically, all flowing together into a central root-pipe. Operated from a central lever-platform, the pipe system could isolate glisters from the surrounding stonecomb, and if opened to its full extent, harness the very electrical charge of the sky and create lightning orbs. The Ancient Laboratory's ultimate purpose was to inject captive glisters into the lightning orb and expose it to the power of lightning from an electric storm. The two times this was attempted had catastrophic results: the first resulted in the creation of the blood-red glister, which killed its creator and sucked life from its victims before it was trapped in the stonecomb by the knights academic. The second resulted in the creation of a Gloamglozer, which was directly responsible for the death of Most High Academe Linius Pallitax. Both attempts also trapped cloudeaters in the Open Sky just off the Edge, which caused an endless winter until they were banished by Stormphrax. The Ancient Laboratory could, as well as the foolhardy experiments it was primarily used for, also create sky-crystals, as well as mood-salves which served to carry out different purposes in the body. 'Greed' improved the appetite, 'Anger' was said to be a general cure-all and 'Joy' kept Linius Pallitax going during the hard times. The Ancient Laboratory was accessible by two ways: the low-sky cages and the Great Library Tunnel. History The first experiments Created early in the First Age of Flight, the Ancient Laboratory was used by the First Scholars in experiments in the creation of life. The result was disastrous: a glister isolated from the stonecomb was transformed into the "Rogue Glister", a monstrous, possibly insane creature that killed its creator and rampaged through the stonecomb, sucking the life from anyone it found. Quode Quanx-Querix led a party of Knights academic into the stonecomb, and at great cost, successfully trapped the Rogue Glister in a cave. Quanx-Querix then ventured into Open Sky to end the First Endless Winter with a casket of Stormphrax. In an effort to prevent the experiment from ever being repeated, the Laboratory was sealed and the carvings in the Blackwood Chamber depicting the event were defaced. Linius Pallitax's experiments Around four hundred years later, in 14 , Most High Academe Linius Pallitax rediscovered the Ancient Laboratory. Linius had long nursed secret sympathies for Earth-scholarship and spent many long nights secretly visiting the Great Library of Sanctaphrax, recovering barkscrolls related to the Laboratory and restoring the Laboratory to use. Following the barkscrolls and the carvings in the Blackwood Chamber, Linius recreated mood-salves and created sky-crystals. However, he sought to recreate the First Scholars' last experiment and create life of his own. This led to another disaster: the creation of the gloamglozer. Third Age of Flight The Gloamglozer returned to Sanctaphrax during the Third Age of Flight, where it used the Ancient Laboratory to create an army of new Gloamglozers. When Ifflix Hentadile attempted to destroy the Ancient Laboratory, he was killed by a shard of falling glass. Ambris Hentadile, Ifflix's brother, used his phraxpistol to destroy the Laboratory that had caused so much harm. Category:Places Category:Sanctaphrax Category:Buildings